


14 - Inevitable

by MemoriesOfVoxei



Series: 100 Themes Challenge [14]
Category: One Piece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-16
Updated: 2014-05-16
Packaged: 2018-01-25 00:57:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1623233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MemoriesOfVoxei/pseuds/MemoriesOfVoxei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sanji worries...</p>
            </blockquote>





	14 - Inevitable

Sanji swooped a few carefully picked vegetables and started cutting them delicately into heart shapes, their smooth curves proofs of his expertise. Only the beauties could be given so much love in the food he made, and although it was it was nothing really important, he really put a lot of effort into it.

Actually, all the fussing he's been doing over Nami and Robin since the crew reunited had partly been an act. Partly. Of course, they were beautiful and appealing, and never once did he lie when he promised to give them protection and happiness. However, things changed. They had all suffered from those two years of training, they had all matured and somehow those changes also affected their new everyday life on the Sunny Go. He, for one, noticed the nervous tension lingering in the air around the ship, and figured returning a bit to their old habits would release at least a bit of it. He had been proved right when the other crew members slumped their shoulders in what might have been relief and when their smiled held a hint of true joy instead of nervousness. Especially Luffy.

The captain obviously went through a lot those long two years ago. And it was obvious in all of his being (the shadows in his eyes, the slumped shoulders, the sleepless nights, the maturity in his voice) that he was not entirely the same he was before. Still, he had not broken down and didn't seem to dwell on the past too much. What good would it do to him anyway? After all, he had a future to look up to. A dream to achieve. They all had.

The blond took another bunch of the same vegetables and proceeded on slicing them in normal basic shaped. The men of the ship did not care for pretty artwork. What really mattered to them, Sanji included, was the quality of the food. Well, Luffy always had been an exception; as long as something eatable's in his mouth, he's satisfied. The sharp knife fell on its victims in a fast straight line times and times again. The cook's hand moved automatically and undisturbed by Sanji's train of thoughts.

Yes, they all had a dream. The simple idea of finding All Blue made his blood boil with excitement and his heart drum with anticipation. Then; as stray as a cat born in the dirty backstreet of an overpopulated town, a disturbing thought assaulted his mind. Three simple short words along with a question mark. And then what? Nami-swan would draw a map of the world, Usopp would have surpassed his father's shooting skill and courage, he himself would find All Blue, the Sunny would be the most renowned and famous pirate ship, Zoro would be the strongest swordsman of the world, Robin-chwan would discover the true history, Brook would be reunited with his whale friend Laboon, Chopper would be the greatest doctor. And Luffy would be the Pirate King. But then what? Would they continue their travel and adventures together? But first, would they even be able to get so far, all of them? What if All Blue didn't even exist?

They had believed they could achieve all of that for so long, like innocent children believe in Santa Claus, that it never occurred to him that it could be impossible. There were so many things to take into consideration, and most of them were things completely unpredictable and uncontrollable. For example, what if they had been killed on Saboady? What if Luffy was killed by the poison shit-head? What if they had been caught by marines? Things like those could still happen in the future. The possibilities were huge and their consequences even worse. Still, Sanji knew it was a part of being a pirate, and he had become one aware of the risks and chose to follow that path anyway, like he knew the others did. They were not so naive as to believe in peaceful and funny adventures. Death isn't anything foreign to the "community" they lived in.

The cook tried to push those useless worries away as he prepared the raw beef, a rare meet considered as the highest food quality on a ship, with the perfect assortment of spices to accompany the smashed sweet potatoes. He also prepared a side dish of green and healthy salad, even if he knew the captain would have preferred it replaced by more meet. Really, Sanji was starting to think that if Luffy ever abandoned his dream of becoming a Pirate King, it would be because of his never-dying love for meet. A random image suddenly flashed into his eyes. An image of the sleepless night of three weeks ago. He was on watch duty at that time, or more precisely, he was heading to his watch period, switching with the moss head. It had worried him at the time, but seeing as everything was back to normal the next morning, he had pushed the issue aside. Also, it wasn't the first time that he saw his captain sitting silently on Sunny's figurehead. It was that image that was haunting him while his body moved on its own with experience. Fear took a hold of his soul in a firm cold grip. It could be possible, after all.

When was the last time that Luffy defended his future title of Pirate King? When was the last time that Luffy yelled his goal out loud for the world to hear? When was the last time he simply smiled confidently, with his shit-eating grin, as he ordered the ship to move onward? All of the hints were there, why didn't he notice it sooner? Luffy was going to abandon his dream...

Something fell lightning fast from his gut, crashing like a glass balloon at the harsh discovery, and its shattering brought forth a freezing sensation circulation in his whole body along with his rushing blood, accelerating at the same rate of his heart beats. His breath caught in his lungs and his hands stopped their experienced movements.

"SANJI! FOOD!" Came the unfaltering scream of the famished captain.

Then, the realization hit him like a seatrain. He only wanted to bash his head on the counter at his own stupidity.

 _Who am I kidding,_  he thought _, this is Luffy we're talking about. He'll become the Pirate King no matter what. It's inevitable._


End file.
